PROGRAM NOTES
JOSHUA BELL PLAYS MENDELSSOHN
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Anna Rakitina
Following a series of highly acclaimed appearances with orchestras such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra , New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 2021 / 22 season , Anna Rakitina established herself firmly as one of the most exciting and soughtafter conductors of the new generation . Rakitina remains assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra ( BSO ) under its Music Director Andris Nelsons until summer 2023 . She is only the second woman in the orchestra ’ s history to be awarded this position , and has since become a much-loved member of the BSO family .
Season 2022 / 23 sees Anna Rakitina ’ s much anticipated return to the Tanglewood Music Festival , and to the subscription series of the Boston Symphony Orchestra . Further highlights of the season include her debuts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra , Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France , Tonkünstler-Orchester ( Musikverein debut ), Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra ( Suntory Hall debut ), Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra , Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra , Musikkollegium Winterthur , Nürnberger Symphoniker , NDR Radiophilharmonie ( Hannover ), Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Orquestra Sinfónica do Casa da Musica Porto .
Anna Rakitina has worked with Chicago Symphony Orchestra , New York Philharmonic , Vancouver Symphony Orchestra , Los Angeles Philharmonic , Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , Orchestre National de Lille , Malmö Symphony Orchestra , Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra , Västerås Sinfonietta , Staatsorchester Darmstadt , Sinfonieorchester Biel Solothurn , Jenaer Philharmonie , Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra , Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife , State Academic Symphony Orchestra “ Evgeny Svetlanov ” and National Philharmonic of Russia .
Rakitina is second-prize winner of the Malko Competition 2018 , and further won prizes at the ‘ Deutscher Dirigentenpreis ’ 2017 and TCO International Conducting Competition Taipei 2015 . She was 2019 / 20 Dudamel Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted Los Angeles Philharmonic ’ s youth concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall , as well as LA Phil ’ s education and community programmes such as Youth Orchestra Los Angeles ( YOLA ).
Born in Moscow to a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother , Rakitina grew up in a musical family and began her education as a violinist before she studied conducting at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of Stanislav Diachenko . From 2016 to 2018 she studied conducting in Hamburg , Germany with Prof . Ulrich Windfuhr and graduated with a diploma . She was finalist of ‘ Das kritische Orchester ’ in Berlin in 2018 , participated in the conducting fellowship scheme of the Lucerne Festival Academy led by Alan Gilbert and Bernard Haitink , and attended masterclasses with Gennadiy Rozhdestvensky , Vladimir Jurowski and Johannes Schlaefli . In 2022 , she participated in the Ammodo conducting masterclass of the Concertgebouworkest led by Fabio Luisi .
Joshua Bell
With a career spanning almost four decades , GRAMMY ® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era . Having performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world , Bell continues to maintain engagements as soloist , recitalist , chamber musician , conductor and Music Director of the Academy of St . Martin in the Fields .
Bell has been active in commissioning new works from living composers and has premiered concertos of John Corigliano , ( double concerto ) Edgar Meyer , Behzad Ranjbaran and the Nicholas Maw ’ s Violin Concerto , for which his recording received a GRAMMY ® award .
Anna Rakitina
Joshua Bell
As an exclusive Sony Classical artist , Bell has recorded more than 40 albums garnering GRAMMY ®, Mercury ®, Gramophone and OPUS KLASSIK awards .
Bell has performed for three American presidents and the sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States . He participated in former president Barack Obama ’ s Committee on the Arts and Humanities ’ first cultural mission to Cuba , joining Cuban and American musicians on a 2017 Live from Lincoln Center Emmy nominated PBS special , Joshua Bell : Seasons of Cuba , celebrating renewed cultural diplomacy between Cuba and the United States .
Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin .
Phillip Knott
Experience the Performance Again A livestream of this program is available for a limited time .
MAR-APR 2023 / OVERTURE 31